


Canned Food

by thatsoccercoach



Series: Which Door? [52]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Family Fluff, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-28 20:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14456688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsoccercoach/pseuds/thatsoccercoach
Summary: Faith and Bree have an unofficial project.





	Canned Food

                                                                           [](https://home.howstuffworks.com/treehouse1.htm)

“Jamie?” she called out, her voice bouncing off the walls and down the hallway to where her husband was working on something else on his to-do list of house repairs. “Didn’t you just buy canned corn? Did you put it in the pantry?” She shoved other items aside in her search then turned aside and added another item, canned corn, to the rather lengthy grocery list she was forming.

“Aye,” her husband entered the room followed by Lord John, playfully chasing on his heels. “I bought it and put it in the pantry but maybe Murtagh used it sometime while he was here wi the bairns this week?” he tossed out helpfully.

“Probably,” Claire agreed, nodding her head and causing a few curls to spring loose. “But we seem to be going through things a bit quicker than usual. I suppose that’s reasonable with a growing family, I just hadn’t noticed it until now.” She paused again and wrote on her list. Flour. Peas. Sugar.

“Och, weel, ‘tis good it’s grocery day then, aye?” he asked, leaning down to peck her on the cheek.

“Yes,” she agreed snagging his shirt as he turned and pulling him back for a more thorough kissing. She mumbled something into the kiss and he broke away, laughing gently.

“Wha’ was that, mo nighean donn?”

“Beans. We also need beans.” She grinned at her Scot who was shaking his head.

“Ge’ on wi’ yer wee list then and I’ll get working on mine.”

* * *

With the children all asleep, Claire grabbed the baby monitor in one hand while Jamie snagged the other. “Come see what I found, sassenach.”

They often sat out back on warm summer nights. They would chat or just sit in comfortable silence, looking at the vastness of the night sky, comfortable in the presence of one another. Tonight however, Jamie pulled her far into the yard toward Faith and Brianna’s treehouse that he’d built them the summer before.

For the girls it seemed like a sky-high mansion though in reality, once he’d had the large beams for the platform attached, he had barely even needed a ladder to assemble it. Claire had rolled her eyes in exasperation when she’d first seen the plans he’d drawn up. “It seems terribly extravagant for two little girls,” she told him. But he’d persisted. Murtagh himself had deemed it “bloody charming,” in a turn of phrase that seemed both odd and completely appropriate coming from him. And wee Jamie had called the whole thing “too girly for a treehouse” while Maggie was beyond thrilled with her cousins’ new place.

In the end Claire had to admit, the finished product was perfect and Faith and Bree spent hours in their treehouse. The fresh air and space to play was marvelous and climbing the ladder was what Claire called “marvelous for their cross-lateral development,” which presumably was a positive thing.

It was puzzling that Jamie would take her to the treehouse. Though, now that she thought about it really, she wasn’t opposed to spending time _alone_ with him there.

“Claire!” he reached a hand down to her to help her up the ladder and into the space above. She grasped his warm palm and smiled up as he pulled her into his arms. Scootching onto the platform and into her husband’s embrace she abruptly stopped and began to laugh as their flashlight panned the room.

In every corner of the tiny house were canned goods, stacked and pushed tight against one another. “What,” she chortled again, “are they doing? Preparing for a zombie apocalypse?”

“Shall we ask them then? In the morning?” His chest bounced with soft laughter as she pressed her cheek against it.

“I suppose,” she wiped her eyes that were tearing with mirth. “I can’t wait to hear what they have to say!” She settled against her husband contentedly.

* * *

“Well,” Bree huffed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Remember that thing at school last year?”

Jamie and Claire looked at one another, completely nonplussed.

“The canned food drive,” Faith supplied helpfully, her eyes alight.

“That thing, yeah. Well, nobody has had one in, uh, a year!” Brianna waved her arms emphatically indicating that this was a travesty though she didn’t seem to be able to explain why.

Faith, face serious, took over from there. “See, we were with Murtagh the other day, remember when he drove us home from school?” At the nods from her family she continued. “Well, we saw a man who didn’t have any food and it made me think of the canned food drive. But nobody is doing one so Bree and I decided we should start our own. _Somebody_ has to do it so we decided to get it started.”

Claire and Jamie locked eyes once more over the heads of their girls, looks filled with pride. They may have executed their plan like the five and six year olds that they were but their hearts were those of generous old souls.

“Yep. But we still don’t have a lot yet.” Disappointment showed on Brianna’s face. “We need help and we need more people.”

“Da?” Faith looked at him with soulful eyes. “I think I have an idea but we need you too, ok?”

“Aye lass? Tell me yer idea,” he scooped his oldest onto his lap and settled in to listen.

* * *

Faith’s plan had been wonderful though she’d needed help to make it happen. She’d asked Jamie for help in enlisting his men down at the station. She’d dictated a letter to Claire who had typed and printed it and sent it off to school with her where Faith had shared it with her principal and teacher. They in turn had run copies and distributed the letter to all those they had contact with, who could spread the news as well. There was to be a canned food drive at the fire station the next Saturday morning.

The result was tremendous.

Dozens of families from the local primary school came carrying bags of groceries that would be gathered and sorted at the station then brought to the local food bank. Because of Faith’s teacher and principal the news had spread much farther than the school. Their local public library had posted flyers and several of the staff members brought their donations. The children’s librarian even gave her bag of items directly to Faith who was standing, clutching Fire Chief Mackenzie’s large hand. The parish priest, the secretary, and several members of the congregation came as well, arms laden with gifts to be shared. Friend’s of Claire’s from the hospital made a showing, Joe and Gail stopping to tell both Faith and Bree how proud they were of the girls.

Jamie paused from his job of packing the food into sturdy crates in which they’d transport everything to the food bank. He smiled as he looked at his family. There was Faith, dutifully shaking hands though her anxieties about strangers and crowds and germs were causing her to nearly tremble. She was so brave, he thought to himself. Brianna was busy stacking cans with the help of a few men from his crew. She was busy puzzling out how she could fit the most into one box with the mind of a scientist or engineer. Her creative mind brought him such joy to witness. And then there was Claire, a bairn on her hip, theirs or someone else’s he couldn’t tell from a distance. It was clear from the relaxed manner in which she moved that she was more than happy to be there, visiting with the wives of the men who worked at the station and with all those who had come to make their donations.

His heart swelled. He was proud of his family. And he was blessed.


End file.
